How To Check If a Song Is Copyrighted?

Short answer: assume any commercial song is copyrighted. To check one, upload your video privately to YouTube Studio and wait for the Checks step, which flags music matched by Content ID; look the song up in the U.S. Copyright Office records or the ASCAP and BMI repertoires; or run the file through a free song copyright checker before you publish.

Of course, you might be wondering,

How in the world do I know if a song is copyrighted?

Dive in with us as we explore how to check if a song is copyrighted and why it’s so important.

What Is Music Copyright?

Before we get in too deep on how to know if a song is copyrighted, let’s gain a deeper understanding of what “copyright” means.

A writer, musician, creator or copyright owner will copyright music or intellectual property to protect it so others don’t use it at their whim. For another person to use a copyrighted song, they must first obtain a license or permission of some sort, from the copyright holder. 

In this case, you’ll typically have to negotiate an offer with the copyright holder, which could be something along the lines of paying royalties. It can be quite a hurdle for the average project. 

Is All Music Copyrighted? 

If you’re wondering how to tell if music is DMCA-free, a good rule of thumb is to remember that the vast majority of music is copyrighted. No copyright music is becoming widespread, however, not all copyrighted music has the same restriction terms.

With that said, there is music out there that is copyright-free. Here are a few cases where you don’t need to worry about licenses.

Three Cases in Which Music is Not Copyrighted

Public Domain

Music in the public domain is free to use without a license or permission. For music to fall within the category of public domain, it must meet a few criteria, including;

• The copyright term has run out. In the US, as of January 1, 2026, that covers works published in 1930 or earlier and sound recordings published in 1925 or earlier. Keep in mind that a recording has its own copyright, separate from the song, so a new recording of an old piece is usually still protected.
• Outside the US, protection usually lasts for the author’s life plus at least 50 years, and often 70. The number of years depends on the country.
• Songs first published in the US between 1931 and 1963 whose owners never renewed the copyright. Works from 1964 to 1977 were renewed automatically, so this does not apply to them. You can search renewal records through the U.S. Copyright Office.

Creative Commons

Music released under a Creative Commons license is free to use without asking the owner, because the license itself already gives you permission. With that said, Creative Commons songs have specific requirements and restrictions that you must abide by unless you want to be accused of copyright infringement. 

If you want to learn more about the six separate Creative Commons licenses, you can read about them here. 

Royalty-Free Music

Royalty-free music is that which does not require you to negotiate licensing fees with Performance Right Organizations (PROs). With a royalty-free license, you can use the music again and again without paying each time, but only within the terms of that license. 

However, royalty-free music is not necessarily free. Often, you will have to purchase a single license to use the song. You can purchase these licenses through platforms like Mubert. 

There are SO many benefits to using royalty-free music in your content compared to finding songs under the umbrellas of Creative Commons or Public Domain.

For starters, the licensing process is far simpler compared to that of copyrighted music. Plus, if you license custom-made royalty-free compositions, you can still obtain top-quality, high-fidelity music that matches the quality of your favorite copyrighted songs. 

If you look for royalty-free music on Mubert or a similar platform, you’ll get access to a library of music that is easy to navigate. You can find the right royalty-free tracks based on elements like tempo, genre and mood. Instead of spending hours trying to find the perfect track for your project, you can find one in minutes! 

A lot of people also believe in buying music rights as an alternative investment, like investing in sneakers that are limited-edition or comic books. Buying music rights is an unconventional investment, and a different thing from licensing a track for your video. Either way, it’s always important to read the terms when licensing royalty-free music, as not all licenses are the same. We’ll talk a bit more about this later in the article.

How do I find out if a song is copyrighted?

YouTube is a great platform to check if a song is copyrighted. Its Content ID system matches uploads against music from rights holders, and YouTube Studio shows the result before you publish. Upload the video and wait for the Checks step of the upload flow. If the copyright check finds protected music, it flags it and lets you see the details, remove the claimed part or dispute the claim. Instagram, by contrast, has no tool for checking a song in advance: it matches music automatically and can mute or block a video after it is posted. These are not the only ways how you can tell if music is copyrighted.

Some streaming platforms like Spotify or Apple Music show the copyright (©) and recording (℗) lines on the album or release page. If it’s not the case, databases like the U.S. Copyright Office’s Copyright Public Records System (it replaced the Public Catalog in 2025) or its international equivalents store information about copyrighted music. However, even if you can’t find the copyright status of a song in such lists, it doesn’t mean that the song is copyright-free. Ultimately, how do you know if music is copyrighted? Thorough research and persistence are key to finding out.

How do I make sure a song is not copyrighted?

Look for music that is explicitly labeled as copyright-free. Several online platforms like Mubert offer a wide range of royalty-free tracks. Though royalty-free doesn’t always mean copyright-free, it gives you the legal right to use the music following the licensing agreement, which might involve a one-time purchase. 

What songs are copyright-free?

Music is considered not copyrighted in three cases:

• public domain: is free to use without a license once its copyright has expired (in the US in 2026, works published in 1930 or earlier and recordings published in 1925 or earlier; elsewhere usually at least 50 years after the author’s death), or if a US song published between 1931 and 1963 was never renewed;
• Creative Commons: is also free, but it has specific restrictions based on six licensing types;
• royalty-free music: requires purchasing a single license, often via platforms like Mubert, but does not involve ongoing licensing fees with Performance Rights Organizations.

Always review license terms, as they differ widely. Using such music is faster, simpler, and cost-effective compared to copyrighted works.

How To Check if a Song is Copyrighted On YouTube

YouTube’s copyright engine is a wonderful tool for determining whether or not a song is under copyright. However, it’s not always perfect. A song may still be copyrighted even if YouTube’s engine didn’t pick up on it. 

With that said, it’s a good place to start if you’re looking for information on a song’s copyright status. Here’s how you can check:

• Sign in to YouTube Studio
• In the top right corner, click CREATE, then Upload videos
• Upload a video that has a song in it that you want to use
• Fill in the details and go on to the Checks step. The copyright check runs in the background while the video uploads and processes
• If nothing is matched, the copyright check shows no issues. If the song is matched, the check reports copyright-protected content.
• Open the details to see the claim, then remove the claimed part or dispute the claim. Checks are not final: manual claims and copyright strikes can still come later.

How To Check If a Song Is Copyrighted on Twitch

There is no specific tool on Twitch for checking whether or not a song is under copyright, so it’s best to assume any song you use is copyrighted unless it is:

• Licensed, royalty-free music
• Creative Commons music
• Public Domain music
• Music from a service on Twitch’s Music Options for Streamers list

You might remember the massive avalanche of DMCA takedown warnings and copyright strikes that occurred on Twitch back in 2020. After that, Twitch launched Soundtrack by Twitch, a library of rights-cleared music for streams, but shut it down in 2023. Today Twitch points streamers to a list of outside music services, and its audio recognition system can mute VODs and delete Clips that contain copyrighted audio.

How To Check If a Song Is Copyrighted on Instagram

Instagram has an automated system that recognizes whether or not the song playing in your video is under copyright. The problem is that there is no way to check a song before you post. The more full-length recorded tracks a video has, the more likely it is to be limited.

If you have a copyright infringement issue in your video, your video may be muted or blocked. You can replace the muted audio, or dispute the claim if you believe it was made in error. 

What If I Only Use a Portion of a Song?

Using even a few seconds of a copyrighted song without the license or permission can expose you to DMCA warnings. While some people might get away with it, that doesn’t mean it’s legal. Plus, with the advent of copyright checkers on Twitch, Facebook and Instagram, it’s nearly impossible to get away with copyright infringement. 

What About Covers of Popular Songs?

For some reason, a lot of people believe they can avoid copyright infringement by using a cover of a popular song they like instead of the original recording.

Unfortunately, this is not the case. You will still need to get a license. 

The second an artist or composer releases music, anyone can recreate and redistribute their own version or recording of the work, which is referred to as a “cover.” However, the person who creates the cover will have to pay the artist a mechanical royalty. 

A mechanical license only covers audio releases, not video. To use a cover in a video, you need a sync license from the song’s publisher, which covers pairing music with visuals, plus permission from whoever owns the cover recording. 

In other words, obtaining a license to use a cover of a copyrighted song is equally as difficult and confusing as it is for the original song. It’s much better to find a copyright-free piece of music for your next project. 

Will I Get In Trouble If I Use Copyrighted Music Without Permission?

If you use copyrighted music without acquiring a license or getting permission, the platform can mute your audio, block your video or take it down. On YouTube, a takedown after a legal copyright removal request means a copyright strike, and channels that get 3 strikes in 90 days are subject to termination. 

Plus, a Content ID claim lets the copyright owner block your video, track its views or run ads on it. When the owner monetizes it, the ad money goes to them and is only sometimes shared with you. 

How To Use Copyrighted Music

So, now that you understand how to check if a song is DMCA-free, the question you might have is, “what if I want to use copyrighted music?”

There are a few ways that you can use copyrighted music without having to worry about breaking the law:

• Fair Use: In the US, using part of a song to criticize, parody, comment on or teach may count as fair use, which needs no license. Courts decide case by case, and educational use is not automatically fair.
• Personal Use: If you are making content for personal use and you don’t intend to publish or monetize it.
• Copyright Owner: If you own the copyright to the song
• Obtaining a License: If you obtain the proper license to use a copyrighted song in your project, it’s okay to use. 

Why Use Music from Mubert?

So, as you can see, how to tell if a song is DMCA is relatively easy. As a rule of thumb, even if you aren’t able to find information regarding the copyright status of a song, it’s best to assume it falls under copyright so you can avoid headaches later on down the line. 

Of course, if you want to have high-quality music for your content, the lack of variety found in Creative Commons and Public Domain might not quite cut it. For this reason, content creators all over the world are turning to Mubert.

Mubert’s music licensing platform is made for streamers, filmmakers, app builders and content creators of all kinds. The platform uses millions of high-fidelity samples to generate and deliver exclusive, royalty-free music using the power of artificial intelligence.